Gun Control Laws
Gun Control laws supposedly to curb violence and crime have always been a part of American lives. We have been hearing of gun control since we were kids. When more than 91% of the people of the country say that gun control is a key factor in determining which congressional candidate to vote for, you know how big an issue gun control has turned out to be. So the government has been introducing various laws to curb the usage and availability of guns in the country.
Factors Causing Violence
When you speak about gun control, you also have to talk about the factors which cause violence or violent behavior. The most affected age groups are teenagers and adolescents. There are many factors which can bring about violent behavior. America is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. So racial inequality, financial inequality, unemployment, inter-group violence, economic deprivation and lack of resources are all factors which can cause tempers to boil over and result in physical assaults. If guns are available freely in such a group, then they are more likely to be misused for violence. Alcohol, mental conditions, socio economic factors are a key ingredient.
Classifying Gun Control Laws
We can easily classify the gun control laws into three types of laws. Let us take a look at them in brief.
- The first are the laws which limit the place and type of firearm in use. There are many laws which fall into this category. The gun control act of 1968 is one of them. It restricts inter state transfers of guns. If you do not have the license, then you cannot purchase a gun outside your state of residence. This was also a part of the act. There are also laws and bans on the use of fully automatic weapons.
- Restricting the availability of fire arms to high risk users is the second type of law in gun control. The high risk group includes minors, people convicted for felony, mentally unstable people, drug addicts etc. This law is very essential and effective in curbing the availability of guns to elements that may be termed as a threat to society.
- The last gun control law bans the use of high risk fire arms. You probably do not require a fully automatic machine gun to protect your home and this law clearly bans the use of machine guns and other semi or fully automatic assault weapons.
The state laws when combined with the federal laws have been able to bring about some restrictions on guns. But are they and infringement on your Second Amendment Constitutional rights? It is up to us to decide.